Microsoft has finally released a new Windows feature that promises to reduce, if not eliminate, load times for PC games.
With the DirectStorage software developer's kit, game developers may begin adding the technology into their current products. "Windows games can ship with DirectStorage starting today," Microsoft claims. "By allowing developers to more completely leverage the speed of the newest storage devices, this public SDK release ushers in a new era of rapid load times and rich environments in PC games."
The functionality is based on Microsoft's game-loading Velocity Architecture technology, which can also be featured in the Xbox Series X. DirectStorage is intended to fully exploit the increased bandwidth of today's NVME SSD drives, which have become widespread in consumer PCs.
Microsoft claims that the present storage APIs for PCs are out of date and can cause inefficiencies in the loading process, even if the game is installed on an NVME SSD drive. As a consequence, the business developed a new DirectStorage API that has been tuned to simplify data processing for quicker load times while also freeing up CPU resources.
Microsoft claims that the present storage APIs for PCs are out of date and can cause inefficiencies in the loading process, even if the game is installed on an NVME SSD drive. As a consequence, the business developed a new DirectStorage API that has been tuned to simplify data processing for quicker load times while also freeing up CPU resources.
Microsoft says that DirectStorage can possibly accelerate load time over "any form of storage device," such as an HDD. However, the most significant enhancements will occur when the relevant game is installed on NVME SSDs beginning with PCIe Gen 3.0.
Microsoft also mentions that DirectStorage works better on Windows 11 than on Windows 10 owing to "legacy storage stacks" in the earlier operating system. "Stay tuned to learn about future titles that will launch with DirectStorage!" the business stated. Meanwhile, the upcoming Square Enix title Forspoken has already hinted that it would make use of the API.
DirectStorage SDK may be downloaded from Microsoft's website by interested programme developers. "GPU decompression is next on our roadmap," Microsoft says, "a technology that will allow developers more control over resources and how hardware is exploited." In addition, the business is working on other ways to offload resources in order to free up CPU time during gaming sessions.